Credit: Central Labor Council of Memphis and West Tennessee
Union workers and Kellogg Co. have agreed to a new five-year contract, ending a strike that began in early October.
Workers went on strike for better pay and benefits for new workers. Nearly 1,400 workers refused to work at Kellogg ready-to-eat cereal facilities in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Omaha, Nebraska; and Memphis.
Workers are expected to resume their jobs on December 27th.
“Our striking members at Kellogg’s ready-to-eat cereal production facilities courageously stood their ground and sacrificed so much in order to achieve a fair contract,” said Anthony Shelton, president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. “This agreement makes gains and does not include any concessions.”
Here are some highlights of the new, five-year collective bargaining agreement:
• No take aways
• No concessions
• No permanent two-tier system
• A clear path to regular full-time employment
• No plant shut-downs through October 2026
• A significant increase in the pension multiplier
The Iris Orchestra will come to an end after the 2021-2022 season.
A press release issued Monday said that in the past 18 months, the orchestra had “confronted significant financial and operational challenges.” It also said the organization was facing “the inevitable and formidable task of transitioning in the near future to new artistic and executive leadership, while also grappling with the additional burdens and restrictions of Covid-19 in an altered philanthropic environment.”
The final concerts will be the weekend of April 23-24, 2022. That program will include Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony — the work Iris played during its inaugural concert 22 years ago.
The 2021-2022 season will continue as planned, including all GPAC and Brooks Museum concerts, and all scheduled community engagements.
Iris Orchestra began in September 2000 as an experiment, founded by Michael Stern and Albert Pertalion in partnership with the City of Germantown. The organization transitioned from a municipally funded orchestra to an independent organization funded primarily by private contributions and institutional grants.
It was noted for its unusual structure that brought in orchestra members from around the country and abroad for a handful of performances every year, mainly at the Germantown Performing Arts Center. The roster of guest artists has included some of the world’s top performers.
Under Stern’s leadership, the orchestra made several recordings, performed new as well as old reliable works, and commissioned works by American composers. It also was involved in community arts education, including establishment of the Iris Artists Fellowship Program.
Yo-Yo Ma was the first soloist in the group’s inaugural concert and he appeared with Iris again 10 years later. Other luminaries who performed with Irish include Yefim Bronfman, Garrick Ohlsson, Emanuel Ax, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, and Pinchas Zukerman.
Commissioned composers include Anna Clyne, Chris Brubeck, Jonathan Leshnoff, Ned Rorem, Huang Ruo, and Edgar Meyer.
Over the last 10 years, Memphis home values rose faster in landmarks districts than other parts of the city, according to a new report from the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development.
In July, Memphis City Council members approved two new landmarks districts, Vollintine-Evergreen and Crosstown. Council members requested at the time data on all the city’s landmarks districts for home prices, demographics, values of building permits, and more. The report is included in the council’s documents for Tuesday’s committee hearings where members are slated for a review and discussion on the matter.
(Credit: City of Memphis)
Home prices across Memphis rose 18 percent from 2010 to 2021, the report says, from a median price of $81,200 to $95,600. Median values in landmarks districts rose 59 percent in the same time period from $171,900 to $273,000.
The largest increase in home values in landmarks district was Annesdale-Snowden, where home prices rose 74 percent from 2010 to 2021, from a median price of $120,050 to $208,900. Homes in the Glenview neighborhood rose only 16 percent in the time period – lower than the Memphis average – from a median of $62,850 to $72,600.
(Credit: City of Memphis)
Council members also asked for demographic breakdowns of the 27,000 people in these landmarks districts. The report found that four of the districts are predominantly African-American: Glenview, Rozelle-Annesdale, Speedway Terrace, and Vollintine-Evergreen. Six of them are predominantly non-Hispanic white: Annesdale-Snowden, Annesdale Park, Central Gardens, Evergreen, Lea’s Woods, and Cooper-Young. Crosstown was found to have no predominant racial group.
(Credit: City of Memphis)
Though income data was not available for all landmark districts, incomes inside the districts rose faster than those outside of them. From 2010 to 2019, incomes of those living inside landmark districts rose by a median rate of 27 percent (from $51,964 to $66,307). Incomes for those in the rest of Memphis rose by 13 percent (from $36473 to $41,228) in the same time period.
(Credit: City of Memphis)
The value of new building permits nearly doubled (up 91 percent) for all of Memphis from 2010 to 2020. The total value of new building permits across the entire city rose from $53.4 million in 2010 to $101.9 million in 2020. Building permits for all of these years totaled $748.6 million.
However, building permit values rose by 232 percent for projects inside landmarks districts. These values were $1.9 million in 2010 and were $6.3 million in 2020. Building permits for all of these years totaled $43.7 million.
(Credit: City of Memphis)
Homeownership rates citywide fell from 75 percent to 66 percent in 2019. These rates were 70 percent in 2019 for those inside landmarks districts. Homeownership decreased in Central Gardens and Rozelle-Annesdale. Homeownership rates increased in Evergreen and Glenview.
Planning leaders suggest changes to the landmarks program for greater efficiency. One of these would allow more types of home improvements to be approved administratively, instead of by votes of the Landmarks Commission. Another suggestion would allow some non-consenting homeowners to remove their property from the landmarks district.
Here’s how Memphis’ landmarks district stacks up against others:
(Credit: City of Memphis)(Credit: City of Memphis)
It’s Christmas week, and you need to chill. Legendary Memphis songstress Susan Marshall is here to help. “Deck the Halls, Y’all” is the slow-burn comedown track on her 2015 holiday album Decorations of Red. It’s a hill country blues take on the classic yuletide carol.
Director Kim Bledsoe Lloyd made this music video for the song in 2020, which she says features Marshall and drummer Pee Wee Jackson “filmed at Phillips Recording Studio and then stuffed inside a snow globe.” Let’s just take a moment to admire the brilliance of her concept.
Susan Marshall decks the halls, y’all.
Lloyd mixed in some images from a 1949 version of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and 1959’s “Santa Claus vs. The Devil,” as well as home movie footage of Sam and Jerry Phillips’ family Christmas celebration and the Orange Mound Christmas parade. The result is a fizzing sip of holiday good cheer. Deck them halls, y’all!
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
BSMF 2022 headliners Three 6 Mafia (Courtesy Memphis in May/Beale Street Music Festival)
Memphis in May’s Beale Street Music Festival (BSMF) headliners for 2022 will be Foo Fighters, Lil Wayne, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Three 6 Mafia.
On Monday, the region’s biggest music festival added several more musical acts in the “Round One” lineup announcement. DaBaby, Modest Mouse, former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, Moneybagg Yo, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Soccer Mommy, Sarkodie, Dirty Honey, The Glorious Sons, Trigger Hippy, Sue Foley, and Kenny Brown will perform at the three-day festival. More artists will be announced in February.
BSMF will return in 2022 after a two-year, pandemic-induced pause in 2020 and 2021. The 2022 edition of BSMF will take place at Liberty Park (MidSouth Fairgrounds) while construction is still underway at the redesigned Tom Lee Park. In 2023, the festival will return to Tom Lee Park, after construction is projected to be completed in April.
A limited number of three-day passes are on sale at a discounted price of $155. Prices will increase once these are sold out. VIP passes, offering a number of bonuses for music fans, are also available for $809. Tickets are available at memphisinmay.org/bsmftickets through Front Gate Tickets.
(Courtesy Memphis in May/Beale Street Music Festival)
The new concourse at Memphis International Airport (MEM) will not open this year as airport officials had planned, but is now expected to open sometime in early 2022.
The airport has been under construction since the project to build a new, modern B Concourse was announced in 2014. Officials previously stated the project would be complete as early as early 2021.
The project has stalled, however, on Covid-related staffing and supply chain issues, according to MEM spokesman Glen Thomas. No firm date or timeline has been set for the opening.
“We’re probably several weeks away from knowing the date,” Thomas said. “We’ve been very intentional about not setting that date until we know with certainty that we can open up.
“It’s probably no surprise to anyone that many things have happened in the past year-and-a-half. Certain things slowed us down a little bit. Covid slowed us down. Staffing. Supply chain. But we are working very hard.”
(Credit: Memphis International Airport)
The gate area for passengers looks finished. Art is hung. News plays on screens above empty seats. Barstools line up neatly at restaurants. Empty store shelves need only to be filled with snacks and paperbacks.
However, Thomas said the airline operations area one floor beneath the gates needs more work. Specialized equipment for airplanes has been hard to come by, he said. But so have ordinary building supplies like water heaters, paint, fire alarms, and door frames.
“It’s the same thing everyone else is going through in various construction projects; we’re all running into the same things,” Thomas said. “Ours just happens to to be large and complex and involves virtually dozens of companies all moving into the same area.”
New details:
Back upstairs in the gate area of the new concourse, the easiest upgrade to spot is the size. Gone are the low, drop ceilings that have welcomed Memphians back home for decades. The ceiling in the new concourse is high enough to disappear from thought.
That ceiling forms over the massive concourse, wide enough, it seemed on a recent tour, for a game of polo. That space is veined in the center by two large moving walkways. Massive windows frame both sides of the concourse, flooding the space with pleasant, natural light, even on a gloomy day.
Twenty-three gates line both sides of the gleaming concourse. More gates can easily be added in the future, Thomas said, should growth demand them. The 23 gates to be opened can accommodate 6 million annual passengers, about 50 percent more traffic than pre-pandemic levels. The new gates are wider than before to accommodate more people and make them more comfortable as they wait.
At the gates, and throughout the concourse, travelers will find seats with wireless chargers for smartphones and other devices built into the armrest. Most seats come, also, with USB charging ports and a standard electric port for plugs.
New restaurants inside include Memphis Made Brewing Co., a Memphis Grizzlies-themed eatery, and a pizzeria called Stage Left. Old favorites like Lenny’s and Starbucks are in the new concourse, too.
A children’s play area has slides and nooks for playing and benches for parents. A stage for live music promises performances inside the concourse.
Families with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will have their own place to rest and wait with a large room on the concourse that features televisions, refrigerators, and places to lounge. Members of the military also have a space of their own on the new concourse.
Other amenities include larger bathrooms, a bathroom for pets, work spaces, a lactation room for mothers, numerous stores, air-conditioned jet bridges, and more.
A Mississippi man faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for shooting a laser pointer at airplanes.
Eugene Conrad, 52, of Michigan City, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to the charges in federal court this week. He faces up to five years in federal prison to be followed by three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for March.
On July 15th, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notified the FBI Memphis Field Office of reports of planes flying into Memphis International Airport (Memphis) from the east were consistently being struck in the cockpit and cabin by a green laser.
The laser beams seemed to be coming from the Hardeman County, Tennessee and Benton County, Mississippi areas. From January 1, 2021 to July 15, 2021 there were 49 strikes by a green laser on aircraft, mainly FedEx planes.
On July 16th, agents looked for the source of the lights in Salsbury, Tennessee. While they were there, MEM’s air traffic control relayed reports that planes were being struck by a laser. FBI agents saw the light long enough to get its general vicinity but the laser stopped before they could find the source.
In August, agents looked around Salsbury again. This time they had a plane from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) with a camera attached. At around 9:30 pm, the TBI aircraft entered the area over Hardeman County, Tennessee and almost immediately began reporting laser strikes originating from the south and southwest.
(Credit: FAA)
The TBI plane circled the area several times. Surveillance equipment pinpointed an individual standing in front of a house at the intersection of Whippoorwill Road and Hamer Road in Benton County, Mississippi near the Tennessee/Mississippi border.
When agents arrived on the scene, they saw a male, later identified as Conrad, walking around a house while lasering the plane. A green laser pointer was found in an outdoor trashcan. Conrad admitted to law enforcement to intentionally striking planes flying near his residence with the green laser for several months.
In the Bluff City, the holidays are in full swing and available for the world to watch, thanks to the miracle of the internet. Some of the Christmas shows scheduled for online availability include The Sheiks’ annual Christmas in Space extravaganza, as well as a multi-band revue benefiting Porter-Leath’s work for children and families (Friday) and Mick Kolassa singing Uncle Mick’s Christmas Album (Sunday), both at Hernando’s Hide-a-way. But there are plenty of non-holiday tunes available too. Take your pick, and do your part to keep music safe throughout this pandemic.
ALL TIMES CST
Thursday, December 16 8 p.m. GRW — at Hernando’s Hide-A-Way Website
Bird, the electric scooter company, said Memphis riders had a $1.1 million economic impact on the city this year.
(Credit: Bird)
The company’s end-of-year report says Bird riders spent $100 million in cities that have the scooters. By riding instead of driving, Bird riders also saved 1.1 million gallons of gas this year, the company said.
(Credit: Bird)
As for spending, the company said incremental spending, especially on food and beverage, was higher in cities that have Birds versus those who don’t.
“All the data points to the same conclusion: e-scooters drive consumer spending and likely provide a significant financial boon to local economies,” said study co-author Daniel McCarthy, an assistant professor of marketing at Emory University. “Obviously cities have many factors to consider when choosing to partner with Bird or others in the micromobility industry, but the economic benefit to local businesses should not be understated.”
Female ridership in Memphis was 41 percent this year.
In another trend seen in 2021, Bird says more women are riding its scooters, especially in the Southeast. Female ridership in Memphis was 41 percent this year.
Melissa Cookston, the winningest woman in barbecue, can add another accomplishment to her collection. Her BBQ All Stars Superstore officially opened in Southaven, Mississippi, on Tuesday, December 14th.
And if you’re planning to spend any time around a barbecue pit soon, the new store has you covered with grills, sauces, seasoning, kitchen tools, and plenty of other materials that might be needed.
“I know that there are lots of BBQ and grilling enthusiasts in the Mid-South, and I wanted to create an amazing store for them” Cookston says. “I also wanted to create a store where there will be something for everybody. We’ll carry a big selection of gifts, such as leather travel bags, cutlery, and more. We will have so much space we are going to be able to offer the largest selection of barbecue and outdoor products around and be able to have a large area for cooking classes.”
The superstore contains a wide selection of spices, seasonings, grills, and cookware. (Credit: Melissa Cookston)
The section of the store dedicated to cooking classes will have a large area to accommodate in-person classes, and also boasts audio visual broadcasting and recording capabilities. Classes may range from smoking a whole meal to making sushi.
“The building will also house the World Junior Barbecue League headquarters,” continues Cookston, “so young barbecue enthusiasts will have a place to discuss their barbecue adventures and plans, have BBQ Boot Camps, and get helpful tips from all of the barbecue pros that will be in the store.”
The store will carry many recognizable grill and cooking equipment brands, including Big Green Egg, Primo Grills, Alfa Forni pizza ovens, Traeger Timberline, Green Mountain Grills, Myron Mixon Smokers, Blaze Grills, American Outdoor Grills, Gateway Drum Smokers, Cotton Gin Smokers, and Pitbarrel Smokers.
The store, located in Southaven Commons at 875 Goodman Road, is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Grills galore at The BBQ All Stars Superstore. (Credit: Melissa Cookston)
